


Under The Mask

by JustAndrea



Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: Flirting, M/M, alter ego
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 16:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8167790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: His boyfriend had many different sides to him. Hater had been dating him long enough to know at least that. Some of these sides he loved, other sides he appreciated, and others he was admittedly still a bit annoyed by, but he accepted them all. And, just because Wander had to suddenly put on a mask and cape sometimes didn't mean that he wasn't still his boyfriend when he entered this persona - a fact that Hater realizes quickly and DEFINITELY appreciates.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Hero!Wander/Hater drawing done by Nakklepiggy on Tumblr. Look it up, it's great ^v^ Anyway, enjoy!

His boyfriend had many different sides to him. Hater had been dating him long enough (and thankfully paid attention close enough) to know at least that. Some of these sides he loved, other sides he appreciated, and others he was admittedly still a bit annoyed by (even with his lack of dating experience, he was pretty sure that no one out there loved every single thing about their lover), but he accepted them all.

Even so, there were some sides that he couldn’t help but still be a bit surprised by, mostly because of how rare they were. But, when you were dating someone like Wander, you sort of had to expect - and accept - that sometimes your weekend-long dates will be interrupted by some good deed.

Or in this case, a floating banana ‘doctor’.

It had all started with a message Screwball had posted on the Villains-Only Social Media Site (or VileChat, for short), which Hater just so happened to be checking when Wander and Sylvia arrived. Hater didn’t think it was too big of a deal - just some dumb riddle about rubber noses. What kind of a threat was that?! - but Wander took it seriously, as did Sylvia (though, really just to support her friend, he doubted that she actually thought of this guy as a threat). So, their date would have to be put on hold.

Now, of course Hater was disappointed by this, and maybe a bit offended too - Seriously, how could Wander think that some mustached banana was the most evil guy in the galaxy?! - but he still knew that he couldn’t stop Wander from being his goody-goody self and saving the day in his own weird way, no more than Wander could stop him from doing things his Hater-y way.

So, he stepped back and let the two ‘superheroes’ work, grabbing a handheld game from his room to keep himself busy. After a few minutes though, once they determined that it was a two-part riddle and that the second half would be on a nearby asteroid, Sylvia left to go retrieve it while Wander stayed behind, just in case something else came up. And once again, Hater was feeling that bit of surprise as he stared at his now-masked boyfriend.

The way he stood - either with his chest out and his hands on his hips or with his cape wrapped around him, the way he seemed so serious and focused, the stoic look on his face… If Hater didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought this was a different Star Nomad all together!

“So, uh…” Hater started to say, feeling a bit awkward, “What do you think he’s trying to do? Conquer some planet?”

“Conquering’s not usually Screwball’s style,” Wander answered simply, his voice noticeably missing his accent (how was he even able to do that?! …Though admittedly, there was something about his ‘Boy Wander’ voice that was kinda cool. …And maybe kind of attractive).

“O-Oh, uh, really?” “Planets are a token and a reward for his schemes, but it’s not his main goal.”

“Oh…” Hater scowled. “Hmph, then how can this guy even be called a villain?” he criticized, “Seems more like an annoyance to me. Or just a clown with a criminal record.”

“I can assure you, he’s very much a villain,” Wander replied, narrowing his eyes a bit - though not at Hater, “A fiendish fruit and a serious threat to any true smile and good mood out there.”

“If you say so… But, hey, if anyone can defeat him, you can.” Heck, Hater could too (with probably little to no effort to boot), though he decided to leave that part out.

There was a small pause. The hero glanced over at him and nodded. “Thank you for your support.”

“Well yeah,” Hater rolled his eyes, “You’re my boyfriend, so of course I’m going to root for you and not some wannabe bad guy.” Wander didn’t reply to that, and Hater felt a pinch of something - worry maybe? - but tried not to let it show. “…What? Are, are you just suddenly single while you’re doing the whole superhero shtick?” Or maybe this hero part of Wander just didn’t date. After all, that’s what most heroes chose to do in most of the comic he read.

Thankfully, Wander corrected him. “I never said that,” he said simply.

“Oh. Well… Good.” He relaxed a bit again, going quiet once more.

As he continued to stare at the stoic nomad though, he couldn’t help but draw parallels between the two of them. Even if it was a completely different role, it could still be said that Wander was sorta acting the way Hater did whenever he conquered a planet. For one, a persona that helped get his message across to entire planets, and for the other, a necessary role he needed to take on in order to protect something he cared about. Different, but still similar. Both of them were serious, focused (or, in Hater’s case, at least tried to be), confident, determined, mildly threatening and, most of all, wanting nothing more than to accomplish their goal.

Just another way they were similar, Hater supposed. Of course, no matter how deeply he got into his ‘threatening, awesome evil overlord’ persona, Wander always seemed to bring out Hater’s true self one way or another, whether he liked it or not. And if Wander could do it…

Hater suddenly smirked. Well, this should be interesting.

He sauntered over to the hero, lightly pulling on his cape when he got close enough. “So, how long do you think it’ll take to defeat Screwball?”

“It depends on his plan,” Wander said simply, trying his best to ignore the skeleton. Hater continued to smirk, his hand moving from the cape to Wander’s shoulder, rubbing it slightly. He noticed Wander’s face harden as he tried not to purr at his boyfriend’s touch. Hater held back a chuckle.

“Well, I bet it won’t take you too long. Five, ten, eleven minutes, tops! And if he’s smart, he’ll know not to bother trying anything funny for a while, cause you’ll just go and defeat him all over again.” His other hand reached over and held Wander’s. “After all, you’re not as dumb as he is. And besides… You know how to really make people smile, don’t you? You know how to make people really feel happy or have fun, and I should know.”

Wander’s face twitched, and Hater could tell he was trying not to smile at the compliments. “You aren’t trying to distract me, are you Lord Hater?” he asked suddenly, still looking ahead.

“Nothing really to distract you from,” Hater retorted as he continued to rub, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand a bit, “After all, Sylvia’s not back yet.”

“She should be back soon. …Though, if she isn’t, I should probably go after her, just in case Screwball had an extra trick up his sleeve.”

“Eh, she’ll be fine.” After all, if he or Peepers could never keep her captured for very long, then Screwball definitely couldn’t. “It’s like you said, she’ll be back soon. But that does give us some time together. Some time to relax… “ And some time to enjoy each other, even if their date-weekend was still on hold.

Hater crouched down, still smirking a bit (though it had become more of a loving smile now) as he lifted Wander’s hand up. “After all, it’s been what, like a month since the last time we saw each other? Seems like forever… I’ve missed you, Wan.” He kissed his hand, and Wander turned his head slightly - though Hater could still be a bit of the blush now heating up his furry face.

“I- This, this isn’t the best time for kissing, Lord Hater,” he managed to say as the skeletal overlord continued kissing his hand, “W-When it comes to Screwball, you always need to be alert. Expect the punchline even if you haven’t heard the, the set-up yet.”

Hater hummed, kissing up the nomad’s arm until he reached his cheek. “I guess that makes sense… But like I said, you shouldn’t have to worry about him defeating you.” He smiled at Wander, now able to look him in the eyes, “So taking a second to enjoy ourselves shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?”

Despite his blushing and the hint of enjoyment in his eyes, Wander still refused to break character. However he didn’t try to look away from Hater, nor did he try to pull away. “You should learn to be patient…” he mumbled.

“Hmph, I am patient…” He continued to softly grip the hero’s hand, with his other hand slowly moving lower - though consciously making sure not to go too low. Just low enough so he could easily stroke his soft, orange fur. “I’m alright with sharing you with the universe, and I’m alright with you being a hero.” If he couldn’t be or do these things, well, then he just wouldn’t be his Wander anymore. Hater knew that. But even so…

“That doesn’t mean I still won’t try to spend time with you,” he said as he leaned forward slowly, watching Wander’s eyes flutter shut he did so. His own eyelids started to close, and-

“Wander!” Hater jolted, moving back while Wander, acting as if he hadn’t been caught in a potential make-out session, turned to look at Sylvia. Her mane messed up a bit and a bit of asteroid dirt on her feet, but otherwise fine.

“Did you find the riddle?” “Yep! Let’s move!” “Right,” he nodded, easily slipping out of Hater’s grip (and doing it so quickly that Hater almost didn’t see it) and running towards his friend, holding his arms out and making whooshing sounds as he did so. With no trouble at all, he hopped onto the orbubble, and they were off - floating through a nearby escape-vent.

“…” The skeleton blinked, then sighed. Of course, just his luck. …Well, it was like he said, he couldn’t stop Wander from saving the day, nor did he really want to. But of course, that didn’t keep him from feeling a bit disappointed at his departure. But whatever, at least he got to have a bit of fun with his boyfriend.

Walking back over to his seat, Hater got out his game and turned it on, silently hoping that his prediction about Wander being able to defeat Screwball in less than half an hour was correct. However, before he could even load his saved game, something made him sit up straight. …Actually, it was more like several ‘somethings’.

A small clink of metal on metal. The release of a rope. The rustle of a cape. A soft hand on his shoulder. One last word, their voice’s tone neutral yet still able to get across a subtle feeling of happiness and maybe even amusement - like he could actually hear the person smiling.

“Duty calls, and that’s one call I can’t afford to screen… but I never leave anything unfinished.”

“Wha-?” Before Hater could even properly look at the person’s shadowed face, a pair of furry lips crashed into his, causing him to close his eyes and enjoy the kiss.

It ended shortly after - much too shortly, in both of their opinions - but the kiss was still worth the effort. Still a bit dazed by it, Hater opened his eyes just in time to see Wander be pulled back up by the grappling hook and jump back through the vent.

“…Heh.” He shook his head, turning back to his game while a small, warm smile remained on his face. “Weird little spoon.”

Yet he wouldn’t have him any other way.


End file.
